PS4 launching in India

I’m still ridiculously jealous of Geoff and Darryn and all the rest of you who have PS4s. I also still want an Xbox One, although I’m seriously wondering when it will ever make it to our shores. PS4 is getting a head start in plenty of countries – their latest announcement is for India. But will naan of the people be able to afford it?

Launching on 6 January 2014, the PS4 will be priced at Rs. 39 990 (Indian Rupees). With current exchange rate, that’s about R6 650 or $640. Yeah, that’s pretty expensive. The games will also set Indians back quite a bit, although not as much as they cost here:

FIFA 14 = Rs. 4 499 (R748 / $72)

Knack = Rs. 3 999 (R664 / $64)

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag = Rs. 3 499 (R582 / $56)

Honestly, I understand that international launches are expensive for companies – they already generally take a loss on every console sold as it is, something that’s compounded with gambling on exchange rates and worrying about import/export costs. I’m glad to see that the Indians will be able to get their hands on the new console, and a jealous of their game costs. That said, I’m not sure how it works with price parity – how rich do you have to be by Indian standards for afford the PS4? Then again, how rich do you have to be by South African standards to afford it either?

The bigger question for me is where is Microsoft in all of this? There is certainly demand for the Xbox One in other countries – when will they give us release dates, or even just a window? At this point, I’d just be happy if they specified the quarter during which we could expect it. Maybe they are trying to secure full market penetration in the original launch countries, but if Microsoft doesn’t launch in the other countries soon, it will be very hard for them to regain the foothold they garnered with Xbox 360.

Wielding my lasso of truth, I am the combination of nerd passion and grammar nazi. I delve into all things awesome and geek-tastic. You can read more of my words over at www.borngeek.co.za, or just follow me on all the social networks to get the true range of my sarcasm and wit.

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